Success through Failure

It was a big disappointment about the quality of the paper and the print. I wanted to give this book as a gift to one of my friends i don't know what to do with the book is there any possibility of getting a good copy of the book?

Most engineers, at least at the master's level, now are exposed to Petroski's books, but if you know any young engineers who have not read them they make a marvelous graduation gift. They relate notable failures in engineering to the history and culture of their time and to the improvements that resulted from them. Some, like the Tacoma Narrows bridge, have made it to television, but the superficial and sensational treatments they receive in television programming don't compare to Petroski's thoughtful and thorough analyses.

When I decided I wanted to do engineering, the first things I ruled out were chemical engineering and civil engineering. Since there's not an awful lot of this type of engineering book on the market (particularly from aerospace engineers), I wound up reading these to give myself a bit of background for uni interviews.They were amazing. Genuinely, I thought they'd be really dull, but Petroski has a stunning style and a way of making engineering accessible to those who aren't quite there yet. His analogies, whilst he spread them over numerous fields, had a reasonable focus on civil engineering, and I gained a new respect for the field -- in fact, given the opportunity to reapply, I might even consider applying for civil.Petroski explains things in a way I feel a good engineer should explain. You gain an appreciation of what an engineer's take on design and failure is, and are suitably entertained throughout.I'd HIGHLY recommend this book, and many of Petroski's others.

Te only way to rate a book is to produce a review. Further, this is a book on "engineering". I don't consider myself enough of an engineer to do that. A statement on the experience of buying this item from Amazon is an entirely different matter. As always a product was chosen, purchased and delivered by Amazon. That has always been a pleasant thing. They continue to do it right.

This book may have been written fifteen years ago, but the subject matter is still as relevant today as it was in 2006. Whilst it is a development of various lectures given by the author, it reads well and shows no signs of its origins. In essence it deals with the design of products, constructions and systems in modern society, their development and evolution and how in many instances their ultimate success was a direct consequence of technical or corporate failings. In case of the latter, it highlights that tampering with the design of a successful product risks alienating loyal customers and I suppose the message here is ‘If it isn’t broke – don’t fix it!’. The author has written numerous books dealing with aspects of design (and failure) from bridges to pencils and all are very readable and informative so ‘Success Through Failure’ is a worthwhile read even though it repeats much from other publications. My only negative comment is reserved for the paper quality, and also the print which was faded in several locations, which should not be the case in a revised reprint sold at a premium cost.